Caring About Our Team Members

What would you say if a news reporter asked you how much you cared about your team members?

Do you think about them when you're not at work? Do you enjoy the time that you do spend together?

I've had some wonderful team members in the many jobs I've held. Some that made work feel more like play. Some that remembered things about me that made my life easier and happier. Some that set such good examples for me that I emulated their behavior and became a better person as a result.

Team members are a big part of our lives. It's not just work. It's important to care about our team members as well.

We spend too much time with the people we work with to pretend that we don't care about them.

What does caring about them mean? Treating them all with respect and dignity. Speaking openly. Accepting, and giving both positive feedback and feedback for improvement. Laughing. Sometimes, even crying together. We're all people and the more that we recognize that the more happy, and productive we can be.

How can you appropriately show a team member that you care today?

-- Doug Smith

Comments

A Promise or A Plan?

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More On Learning

Even brilliant minds sometimes fall behind. Keep learning. I say it a lot, and yet can't say it enough: keep learning. That's a note to self as well as anyone else. What have you learned today? -- doug smith

Lead By Example

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One Generation Behind

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Nothing Left to Give?

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Focus First

Ambition without vision consumes everything around it. -- doug smith

High Performance Leaders and Emotions

Are you an emotional leader? I had a boss once who put his fist thru a wall. He got lucky. If he hits a stud, it's a broken hand, at least. But he hit pure dry wall and his fist went right thru. He was making a point. I don't remember what his point was, but it was obvious that he was angry. He was also out of control. Leaders can't afford to look out of control. Scare your team and they'll lose productivity faster than you can say "update the resume." I've lost my temper, too -- but never put my fist thru a wall (at work. I did once in college in the apartment where I lived, but that's another story. Oh, yes I did fix the hole.) Sure, leaders can have emotions. But if our emotions get out of control they get in our way. Our teams panic. Our customers walk. Our families cringe. I'm not advocating any kind of flat line robotics here. Enjoy your emotions. Cry. Laugh. Cuss if you need to. Enjoy the joy that's there in lif...

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Are You In The Mood for Problem Solving?

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High Performance Leadership

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